Just want to mention my experience quitting smoking (which is notably hard, but I have no point of reference having not used other drugs).
Physical addition is easy. With nicotine there are not really strong symptoms anyway, irritability mainly and inability to focus. I know other drugs are worse but in principle, battling withdrawl is not that tough, people are good at physical hardships. For nicotine it's a few days.
It's the rest of your life that's the problem, because you know that something that has an effect you enjoy immensely (and you tend to view use nostalgically though rose colored glasses) and you could do it any time if you wanted to. You need to deal with that forever. And if you slip you're back on the thick of things - like why alcoholics can't have a social drink.
So anyway, I sort of agree with the article, because it's easier to quit when you have something going on (I started walking and then running, which is what I attribute to success). Though I also think humans are complex enough that making a "rat paradise" for someone is not at all tenable.
Edit: and just to conclude, I smoked for 15 years and quit 12 years ago. I still want to smoke, I still dream about it, I still know I would enjoy it. I will never do it and I've learned to cope, but wanting to is something I'll live with forever. That's what makes addiction hard. If it was just a couple sweaty nights tied to a bed, things would be very different.
I quit smoking well over a decade ago. It was very hard.
I use the crass metaphor of a gorgeous ex-girlfriend who is terrible for you and you know it, as a way to describe the mindset I came to with the difficulty of quitting. The idea being, when you’re lonely, you know you could call her up and she would come over and you’d get what felt good, but not what you wanted. Only when you get to the point where you know it’s a waste of time can you quit. That took me years.
I used to smoke and chew tobacco quite infrequently once a day or so, but for about ten years, but decided to stop about three years ago.
During the past several years I’ve come back to realize I was using tobacco therapeutically — specifically to actually focus and as a relief from constipation.
And, since then I’ve been “trying to get healthy” - especially mentally. But just feel endlessly stuck trying to get some kind of ADHD diagnosis — having seen 4 separate mental health professionals for problems I never had on tobacco.
Sadly I’ve relapsed and for the first time in those three years since I quit I actually don’t feel constipated when I chew in the evenings. Also, I’ve found the ability to sit down and finish my manuscript.
Running is also used successfully by heroin addicts to help quit. It's actually one of the best ways to help with many addictions. Not discounting your achievement in quitting smoking in any way, but the easiest way to quit an addiction is to slot in a replacement habit that is also pleasurable, and running is deeply satisfying
I hate running, and could never keep up a workout routine with it involved.
Then i found i could really push myself in the pool and have fun. Swimming is so much easier on my body and when I do laps it's almost like a sensory deprivation tank. Just me and the water.
Personally I think what's great about running is that it's also addictive, and so the same personality quirks that make you susceptible to other addictions, at least in my case, make you susceptible to becoming a regular runner.
> because you know that something that has an effect you enjoy immensely
> And if you slip you're back on the thick of things - like why alcoholics can't have a social drink.
I know someone who prescribes naltrexone for alcohol addiction, which has the specific purpose of blocking the positive effect of the alcohol. So you can have the drink, and you won't enjoy it, and it's easier to live with.
The Sinclair Method does have impressive results, and I've have some success with it in the past.
For alcoholics at a certain level (thinking of myself here – yes, anecdotal), there is the necessary accountability to take the naltrexone tablet and "deprive" one of the euphoria, which can be difficult to maintain over a long period of time.
With Vivitrol (an injectable form of Naltrexone that lasts ~1 month per injection), it is not difficult to simply "drink through it". Results in an absolute horrible hangover – sure – but that's not necessarily enough to stop the motivated alcoholic.
Overall though, MAT is a valuable tool in the toolbox.
I also quit smoking. I recommend the book "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr, which basically spends a like a hundred pages explaining that no, smoking isn't fun, at all, you've just been brainwashed to think it is, but really life is much nicer without it. Focus on enjoying your freedom from a completely useless vice :)
Physical addition is easy. With nicotine there are not really strong symptoms anyway, irritability mainly and inability to focus. I know other drugs are worse but in principle, battling withdrawl is not that tough, people are good at physical hardships. For nicotine it's a few days.
It's the rest of your life that's the problem, because you know that something that has an effect you enjoy immensely (and you tend to view use nostalgically though rose colored glasses) and you could do it any time if you wanted to. You need to deal with that forever. And if you slip you're back on the thick of things - like why alcoholics can't have a social drink.
So anyway, I sort of agree with the article, because it's easier to quit when you have something going on (I started walking and then running, which is what I attribute to success). Though I also think humans are complex enough that making a "rat paradise" for someone is not at all tenable.
Edit: and just to conclude, I smoked for 15 years and quit 12 years ago. I still want to smoke, I still dream about it, I still know I would enjoy it. I will never do it and I've learned to cope, but wanting to is something I'll live with forever. That's what makes addiction hard. If it was just a couple sweaty nights tied to a bed, things would be very different.